Time

This question is about saying No to some
tasks and making time for the things you want to say Yes to.

Recently, someone asked Light Chaser
whether she wanted to take on a leadership role in a board, “while you’re here,”
where she is spending time with a family member with health challenges. “It was
important for me to realize that there are at least two assumptions at play in
this offer,” Light Chaser says.

The first assumption was that she might
want to use her expertise (she was formerly a chief executive), and the second
assumption might be that she’s bored because she’s not executing as chief.

“There’s also the assumption that what I’m doing – writing and contemplation – is not considered significant enough,” she adds, “but that is someone else’s assumption and not a priority for me to address.” She said No.

“The time created by saying No to this
offer is now available for the meaningful pursuits I am engaged, immersed and
interested in, and that’s wellbeing in my book.”

Prioritizing is a critical function, and is part of human problem-solving. Widening our life resources so that we can automate, delegate, and rank our to-do list serves to chunk out our time in meaningful and purposeful ways.

We believe that joy makes life and work delightful.

(Mind) Space

The space we are talking about is head space. Being busy people with projects and travel those projects necessitate in our calendar, we have to hold a lot of things in our headspace. This is normal for many people. Juggling the headspace for work, family, play and self-care can sometimes create a cluttered mind.

Antun has found he actually has two jobs, one is to write and the other is to build a business. And, he is also a devoted partner to Gabi. That’s three significant tracks of thought in his mind. Oh, and he also guest posts on Light Chaser Life.

How does he apply Carroll’s hack into his
life? Here’s Carroll’s advice from the TED blog and Antun’s interpretation in
real life.

Life Hack step 1: Create a mental inventory.

Ryder Carroll

“There’s an old tool called the Gantt chart that I’ve used to keep track of ideas that are part of processes, like writing,” Antun says. He uses his chart to find the key items that he’s broken down into big goals, subgoals and daily goals. The daily goals become his to-do inventory of the day.

Life Hack step 2: Consider why you’re doing each of these things.

Ryder Carroll

“When you break down your goals into
smaller actions, it helps you focus,” Antun explains. When he has a list of
daily goals, he goes through them in the morning and decides the purpose of
each one. That allows him to go to the next step in Carroll’s strategy.

Life Hack step 3: For every item on your list, ask two questions. “Is it vital?” and “Does it matter to me or someone I love?”

Ryder Carroll

“Asking these questions brings me back to my two loves in life: my wife and my writing.” Antun adds, “I don’t waste time debating the to-do tasks because I know why each might be important in my work and my relationship. And that’s all there is to the day. Building relationship, and building my skills – these are the balance between being and doing that I pursue for wellness each and every day.”

Life Hack step 4: Take what’s left, and divvy it up.

Ryder Carroll

The strategy that Carroll suggests serves to streamline Antun’s 16-hour days and gives him time to include long walks, swim laps, and significant self-care and relationship care into his day. “It’s not negotiable that I leave things like relationship and wellness out of a busy day,” he says, “because that’s what I believe it takes to flourish as a human.”

Savoring moments by honing awareness is a way to flourish.

Experience

In a way, we are all climbing our own ‘mountains.’ Striving for balance of being and doing in a world that glorifies doing most of the time and dismisses what we value – communication, relationships, self knowledge, authorship of our lives—as ‘too soft’ is a steep and monumental task.

In this mega-task of finding a balanced life and flourish as a multidimensional being, we often have to be our own cheerleaders and coaches as we tread up the slopes of criticism and misunderstanding.

The strategy by Bryant and Veroff is
very much what we believe at Light Chaser Life – finding delight in our world.

The strategy is this: savor moments.
Notice and observe what’s going on, in detail. This creates awareness of a lot
of things that help us be more grateful:

Beauty in nature

Things people do that make them heroic in their everyday lives like striving, persisting, being courageous, being free

This awareness also touches the past and future. It allows us to anticipate, which is different from expecting. “Anticipation for something adds excitement and joy to our calendar,” says Antun, “and it’s different from expectation, which could be dangerous because it sets us up for disappointment when things don’t go as expected. Anticipation is a source of joy.”

Light Chaser adds, “Anticipation allows
us to set the goal to notice things once we are there in that anticipated
experience. Because we anticipate sharing the experience with others we care
about.”

Bryant and Veroff call this effect “the
mind as a time machine” which is to capture moments for the purpose of becoming
a pleasant memory when it becomes past, or for the joy of anticipating being
able to share it in the future.

Finally, Bryant and Veroff give some
practical ways to increase the depth of experience.

Contact

lightchaserlife@gmail.com

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